Maithripala Sirisena - Xi Jinping to meet in China

Sri Lankan president Maithripala Sirisena is to make an official visit to China next week.

He is to attend the Conference of the Dialogue of Asian Civilizations which will kick off in Beijing on May 15.

Speaking at a media conference in Beijing today (09), Mr. Xu Lin, minister of the State Council Information Office announced that Heads of State from Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Greece, Singapore, Armenia and Mongolia as well as heads of UNESCO and other international organisations will attend the event.

Speaking to 'Sri Lanka Mirror', the presidential secretariat in Colombo confirmed that president Sirisena will be visiting China from May 14 - 16.

A spokesperson from the presidential secretariat also said that the president would be addressing the conference and will also meet with his Chinese counterpart - Xi Jinping.

According to reports, president Sirisena had met with foreign ambassadors in Colombo yesterday and had assured them that the security situation in Sri Lanka has been brought under control by the authorities. He has also urged them to ease travel adversaries imposed by several countries following the Easter Sunday bombs.

The spokesperson from the presidential secretariat further said that president Sirisena will also make a similar request during his meeting with President Xi.

Dialogue of Asian Civilizations

The Dialogue of Asian Civilizations, which comes hot on the heels of the recently concluded 2nd Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation and the 2019 International Horticultural Exhibition, will be held under the theme 'Exchanges and mutual learning among Asian civilizations and a community with a shared future'.

Over 2,000 individuals including government officials from 47 Asian countries and well known figures in the fields of culture, education institutions, film and television, think tanks, media and tourism are to attend the opening ceremony and sub forums.

The event will also feature a host of cultural and tourism related activities including the Asian civilization parade, food festivals, Asian culture festival, Asian culture and Tourism exhibition, Asian film week and the joint exhibition of Asian civilizations.